Let The State Of The Union Ride Off Into The Sunset

I’m not going to lie I decided to watch hockey tonight and follow the State Of The Union on Twitter. Take that for what it’s worth, but despite the Blackhawks looking mediocre, I think it’s been a wise decision.

The State Of The Union must have been a really cool spectacle fifty years ago. Imagine it, the President of the United States getting up in front of the ENTIRE country and telling us what the status quo is and what he’s going to do. Families gathered in front of their television or radio sets and sat and listened! I can’t attest to this since I’m only 25 years old (cue the “you’re a millenial you know nothing get off my internet/lawn!” rhetoric) but from all accounts it was quite a rare phenomena to hear the President address the country.

It’s 2014 and I just searched “State Of The Union 2014 Rebuttal” and immediately 576,000 results came up. That is bullshit. This is the exact reason why the State Of The Union needs to retire. The GOP already had a rebuttal ready BEFORE THE SPEECH WAS MADE. It goes to show the state of the State Of The Union that the opposing party already has a response to the President’s words that haven’t even been made yet.

Everything is predictable. Credit it to the 24/7 news cycle, social media, the President’s frequent appearance and the subsequent coverage that ensues, but the State Of The Union needs to go. It’s become a watered down event that has lost it’s allure. It also doesn’t help that the country is more polarized now than ever. Regardless, the President’s speech will be hyper-analyzed for a few days and then everyone will forget about it because Justin Bieber will get another DUI or Richard Sherman will be awesome again and people will be scared of a strong Black athlete.

I think the State Of The Union needs to go. It’s cool to see all of our politicians in the same room and the political atmosphere of the broadcast is neat as well. This feel good aspect isn’t enough to overcome the fact that the President can make an appearance on the Today Show next week and say the exact same thing and illicit the exact same response. It’s becoming a never ending cycle and I really don’t see a point in highlighting one evening as the “MANDATE FROM OUR PRESIDENT!” Obama has always been a good speaker and it is a joy to watch him talk, but the fact is his speech will do nothing to change most peoples attitudes in the long run nor the operations of Congress.

It’s a cool thing to see the President address America in a very official setting, but the actual message of his words gets lost and does nothing beside reaffirm or go against peoples attitudes. The consistent coverage and analysis of the President’s and other politicians statements has made these individual appearances lose their allure. It’s a shame, but with the constant media coverage, not something that’s unexpected. Now Twitter on the other hand offers a positive experience in my opinion. More people are able to converse publicly about the event and when conversation happens, progress is made. Something to keep in mind for future State Of The Union Addresses.